Cosplays of New York

Share:

Every year, thousands of cosplayers descend upon New York Comic Con to show off their amazing costumes. No matter the fandom, you can almost always find at least one person attending as your favorite character. This year, I met some fantastic people who were willing to share a little about their costumes and why they cosplay.

Captain America (as seen above)

“My grandfather was in World War II and I have so much respect for the United States Army. The character just has everything that is good about the government, good about the United States, and you can’t help but respect that. As an American growing up in New York and Captain America being from New York, it seemed like the right character to do.”

Morgana (League of Legends)

“I play the game [League of Legends] and she is one of my favorite characters. I always wanted to build up my costumes and see where I could push the limits. This seemed like an appropriate one. I have an almost 16’ wingspan! I just decided to push my limits and see if I could go ahead and get it done. Surprisingly it is actually holding up pretty well. I have these on hinges so I can close them a little bit, so I can walk around. For the most part I just keep getting stopped, which is cool because this is my first big costume that I’ve done. It’s only the third year that I’ve been doing this.”

The Penguin (Batman)

“The inspiration came from one of the toys and I thought ‘I can do that! I can find the parts for it.’ Finding everything in purple would be a bit more difficult, but it just fit me well. The only part I made was this (indicates the cigarette holder).”

Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica)

“Starbuck is the first character I ever cosplayed. Every time I do it I just add something else and I keep making it better. So next up is probably a wig. Everyone keeps asking if the tattoo is real, but it’s not. I just have to keep buying temporary ones every time I do it… Maybe someday.”

Alice, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter (Alice Madness Returns)

“I just love Alice in Wonderland, but I love this version the most. It’s creepy and a different take on it.” – Alice

“It’s a very different character design. It’s kind morbid, like a Tim Burton-esque.”- Cheshire

“I’m part of the Saber Guild. We’re actually doing a kids training in the family room [at NYCC]. We teach the kids some basic katas with the lightsaber, force moves, and things like that. I like the game The Star Wars Old Republic, so I decided to design a character based off the world in that game. We have a lot of modern day core warrior Jedi, so I decided to go with something older. Something you don’t see everyday in terms of the Old Republic.”

Maes Hughes (Full Metal Alchemist)

“I do this almost all the time. A lot of people tell me I look like him and I find my mannerisms are similar to his. I actually, really relate to the character on an in-depth level and so I just pick him. I do it to see the smiles on peoples faces. I get a rush out of it sometimes if I’m doing something new or if I have a new project to work on or something like that. It’s all for fun.”

Lana (Archer)

“I find Lana a very fierce woman, who also embraces her beauty. She’s not afraid to use her curves, but she also rocks a mean gun. She’s very vocal and uses her voice. She’s not afraid to fight along men and have to a very front position in the C.I.A. I really respect strong women.”

Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros.)

“I try to choose characters that are blonde, obviously, because I have a lot of hair to fit under wigs. But I love Princess Peach because it’s large, very attention grabbing, and a lot of people know her. So everybody can enjoy the character instead of just an obscure reference.”

The Stag (Hannibal)
“I just love that cosplay is an expression of what you like. To let people know that this thing, this show, these books, they really speak to me in a way and I connect with it.”

Shaun and Ed (Shaun of the Dead)

“So, two years ago at NY Comic Con, I’m a big fan of Edgar Wright, and I’m walking the floor and I see what I think is a Nicholas Angel. I start walking over to take a picture and I’m like, ‘Nope, that’s a real cop’. So then the next day I saw him as Nicholas Angel and I told him the story. It was like instant friendship.”

Why do you cosplay? Who do you love to cosplay as? Let us know in the comments below.